This invention relates to a method and apparatus for moving together and aligning large preassembled structures, such as the halves of "double wide" mobile homes.
It has become common for "double wide" mobile homes and prefabricated houses to be designed so that two or more large structures are constructed separately at a central construction site and are transported to a home site and put together to form a single, double-width house. When the separate structures are delivered to the home site, one of the structures is placed upon a permanent foundation and the second structure is initially rolled close to and in approximate alignment with the first structure. When the two structures have been placed adjacent each other, the second structure is placed on runners and is forced along the runners toward the first structure until the two structures are in abutting relationship and, hopefully, are in proper alignment.
The prior art method of movement and alignment of the structures has been unsatisfactory. One prior art method of assembly comprises urging the movable structure along runners by means of jacks that are placed at an incline to bear against the structure. Since the structure will normally weigh several tons, there is the danger that the structure will be damaged by the localized pressure of the jacks. Each end of the movable structure is urged by jacks alternately so that the moving structure is sidled up against the first structure, and this sidling motion is difficult to control sufficiently to assure that the two structures will come to rest in proper alignment. If the runners are placed at an incline so the movable structure slides down the incline the structure may slide uncontrolled down the incline and damage both structures when the moving structure engages the stationary structure. In addition, if the two structures are brought together and found not to be longitudinally aligned, it is difficult to move the structures longitudinally with respect to each other. Any longitudinal misalignment of the halves of the structure usually causes the internal door frames, floor surfaces, ceiling and walls of each half to be out of alignment with the other half.